Preview of The Goats Summary:

A thirteen-year-old girl and a slightly younger boy are stripped and marooned on an island by the other campers at Camp Tall Pine and labeled as "goats." These campers hope to initiate a sexual incident between the girl and boy, who are selected to be the goats because they are misfits. This cruel act is an annual tradition at Camp Tall Pines that seems to have covert approval of some of the camp counselors and administrators. The author frequently refers to Laura and Howie, the victims of the prank, as "the boy and girl" to reinforce their isolation. Laura and Howie decide to elude their tormentors by swimming to the mainland and becoming runaways before their tormentors return to the island. By running away, they are rebelling against society— the peers who have ostracized them and the adults who have allowed the abuse. The novel becomes a...